The chairman of the newly-formed merger between Scottish door manufacturers McTavish Ramsay and Doors by Design is confident the £10m turnover company will achieve its aim of becoming the second biggest player in the UK’s specialist door market within two years.
Entrepreneur Ian Stillie, the former chief executive of Motherwell FC, who has a string of successes in high-growth businesses, described McTavish Ramsay as a “hidden gem”, adding that the UK “needed to get back to manufacturing to reinvigorate the market”.
“There has been consolidation in the supply chain within the construction sector,” said Mr Stillie. “The next phase of winning market share will be aligning with key customers. We will looking at joint venture opportunities, acquisitions or new product development as opportunities arise.”
The combined businesses will continue to trade under their own names, but with manufacturing being concentrated at McTavish’s Dundee factory, which has recently undergone a £1.5m investment, and Doors by Design’s Inchinnan site focusing on design and development.
Mr Stillie said he expected the market to be showing growth by the middle to end of 2010, although he did say this depended on whether there was growth in the housing sector or construction, and the results of the general election. “Everyone is feeling the pain of recession; the better you are operating now, the stronger you will be when the economy comes back to growth,” he said.
McTavish Ramsey has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Colette Brown as finance director. “She has experience of turnarounds and getting them on a solid footing,” said Mr Stillie. “We have a strong team in place to go forward. McTavish Ramsey is a hidden gem with a lot of strength in quality, management and ambition.”
